Coil springs! Why would anyone do that to the car!

Anyone who has the mechanical ability to remove airbags and retrofit springs, also has the ability to repair the air suspension. Which is very simple IF you follow basic steps. Good air pressure, four good sensors and four good airbags are the minima. Everything else takes a few pounds to sort. All that can be done for around or less than the cost of a spring conversion. And gives a much superior ride and capability. People who complain about a wollowing ride on air should change their shockers, that is down to worn shocks. If you have that with air you will also have it on springs unless the shockers are changed at the same time you fit the springs. I can understand to some degree those who rely on others to do their work, (garages dealers etc) changing to springs because they are ripped off by these people for air suspension repairs. But anyone who is capable of doing a little more than basic maintenance should be able to repair his air system quite easily.

I ftted coil springs with ajustable shocks and an EAS overide cable, handling is great on tarmac even better over sand dunes ( down to 15psi for grip) and better height for wadi bashing. I might think twice about the change from EAS if I was in UK where all the parts are easly available, but here all the parts have to come from UK, cost an arm & leg.
Don't change unless you have to.

1998 HSE 4.6

wammers said:

Anyone who has the mechanical ability to remove airbags and retrofit springs, also has the ability to repair the air suspension. Which is very simple IF you follow basic steps. Good air pressure, four good sensors and four good airbags are the minima. Everything else takes a few pounds to sort. All that can be done for around or less than the cost of a spring conversion. And gives a much superior ride and capability. People who complain about a wollowing ride on air should change their shockers, that is down to worn shocks. If you have that with air you will also have it on springs unless the shockers are changed at the same time you fit the springs. I can understand to some degree those who rely on others to do their work, (garages dealers etc) changing to springs because they are ripped off by these people for air suspension repairs. But anyone who is capable of doing a little more than basic maintenance should be able to repair his air system quite easily.

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:5biagree:The mention of air suspension seems to start people quivering with fear, but as Wammers says it's relatively simple to understand and work on, with just a little thought, common sense, and a dash of mechanical ability. There's plenty of info available and with a laptop/cable/EASunlock software even if you don't do it quite right you can reset the faults without a pricey trip to the stealer. FFS even I can do it! Why have coils, (which are at the end of the day a compromise solution to the varied conditions the car will meet), when you can have an adaptive system with settings for different needs? The only reason for coils I can see is for lifts of more than a couple of inches for serious off-road fun, not a trip to the bloody supermarket!

Who uses an RR to go shopping, EAS or no EAS??? I use my 'Baby', for shopping.


1998 HSE 4.6
On Coils & Koni Shocks

1990 Mustang GT

What always puzzles me is that someone always thinks they can do better on a weekend than a manufacturer who has invested millions in a design sometimes over a period of years. (Just have to look at the lowered Saxos and Lupos in any retail park car park on a Saturday night, man, you know, 'n that, like - teen talk, but I digress!) It is accepted that some designs are bad and some just don't work but Range Rovers (P38s) have air suspension. Again whilst it is acceptable that some people swear by coil conversions what has to be remembered is what else has to be done to make the car safe and stable. Most of the coil conversion cars I see have been rolled because the shockers are the standard ones which are designed to work with air springs and are too weak to cope with the added bounce of coils. Factor in the fact that they are mounted further inboard than where they would normally be if the car was designed to have coils and you get the tiptoe effect which again leads to instability. By all means fit the coil kits if you have to but make sure it's a good kit and it's done without shortcuts otherwise the view of the world could be somewhat inverted just around the corner!

Somehow I don't think that it is a weekend mechanic bodge, reputable company's like strutmaster and bearmach as well as others are producing these kits probably in the thousands, funny as I know somebody who was totally against it till he gave up and fitted coils and new shocks, he now wishes he did it earlier. They are simple to fit and as said before mine is very stable, TBH I actually think it handles better on twisty B roads than before and up here where there are no motorways I'm very happy with the conversion. Maybe if I lived where I was doing a lot of motorway miles I would have kept the EAS, but I doubt it. The downside is it is high for anybody with mobility problems to get in and out. Important thing is we keep em running.
Davie

Davie F said:

Somehow I don't think that it is a weekend mechanic bodge, reputable company's like strutmaster and bearmach as well as others are producing these kits probably in the thousands, funny as I know somebody who was totally against it till he gave up and fitted coils and new shocks, he now wishes he did it earlier. They are simple to fit and as said before mine is very stable, TBH I actually think it handles better on twisty B roads than before and up here where there are no motorways I'm very happy with the conversion. Maybe if I lived where I was doing a lot of motorway miles I would have kept the EAS, but I doubt it. The downside is it is high for anybody with mobility problems to get in and out. Important thing is we keep em running.
Davie

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You guys who've changed to coils will generally have changed shocks at the same time. It follows that your ride will feel much better (assuming quality and appropriate parts are used) than the old air bags and shocks might have provided before the work was done.
I guess the same effect is achieved by fitting new air bags and new shocks? Can anyone who's done this comment on the difference experienced?

Anyone who considers coils better over correctly working air suspension are simply in denial!

My new to me RRC soft dash has been converted to coils and the ride is rather harsh.

I am going to investigate converting back to air.

Alternatively, what set up do the stock non-air RRC's use - I can't imagine them being as harsh as the coils on my car?

Cheers

Ecurie Ecosse said:

My new to me RRC soft dash has been converted to coils and the ride is rather harsh.

I am going to investigate converting back to air.

Alternatively, what set up do the stock non-air RRC's use - I can't imagine them being as harsh as the coils on my car?

Cheers

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I have a RRC with coils on the back, I left air on the front.
I fitted standard rear coil shocks and police spec springs and the ride is very good.
I would fit springs on the front but it has a mazda 3.5 SLT fitted .

spencer1885 said:

I have a RRC with coils on the back, I left air on the front.
I fitted standard rear coil shocks and police spec springs and the ride is very good.
I would fit springs on the front but it has a mazda 3.5 SLT fitted .

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Marvellous!!! All the disadvantages of coils (harsh ride, strange handling etc etc) combined with all the disadvantages of EAS (reliabilty, complexity etc) !!!! Genius. Spect that handles interestingly as well with suspension that must be at the least missmatched front to rear!

alfaitalia said:

Marvellous!!! All the disadvantages of coils (harsh ride, strange handling etc etc) combined with all the disadvantages of EAS (reliabilty, complexity etc) !!!! Genius. Spect that handles interestingly as well with suspension that must be at the least missmatched front to rear!

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Air suspension stopped working [no surprise there then] and was not going to be cost effective to repair.
Second hand springs and shocks fitted in the morning cost £30 no comparison.
There are no disadvantages with coils,but there is with a old RRC on air suspension.
I would change the front but its easier to leave air on the front as I can adjust to compensate or the engines weight.

spencer1885 said:

Air suspension stopped working [no surprise there then] and was not going to be cost effective to repair.
Second hand springs and shocks fitted in the morning cost £30 no comparison.
There are no disadvantages with coils,but there is with a old RRC on air suspension.
I would change the front but its easier to leave air on the front as I can adjust to compensate or the engines weight.

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It would automatically compensate for engine weight if it was working.

wammers said:

It would automatically compensate for engine weight if it was working.

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Yes if it worked :doh:
Don't waste your money on a old Land rover ,fit coil springs and spend the money you saved on woman and beer

Those guys that converted to coils are closet Toyota Land Cruiser fans.

KarelP38 said:

Those guys that converted to coils are closet Toyota Land Cruiser fans.

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Land cruisers are on air suspension :doh:

Not the Defender wanabe (Think it is called a 70).
You talking about the LC200 which is a piece of crap in any case.

Sounds like a good idea to me!

KarelP38 said:

Not the Defender wanabe (Think it is called a 70).
You talking about the LC200 which is a piece of crap in any case.

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Range Rover we're talking about:doh: not a Defender.

alfaitalia said:

Hi. Im still looking for an Ok Range Rover 2.5 Diesel DSE or DHSE(I say "OK" as my budget wont run to mint!!) and have driven a few now. I drove one yesterday that although was really bright and the motor was A1 plus everything seemed to work. But it had been fitted with coil springs. WHY WOULD ANYONE DO THAT TO A RR? The ride was truly awful, stiff and yet underdamped at the same time - quite an achievment! I assume that there are different makes of coil conversion and some might be better than others but it has put me right off and I wont bother going to see ones advertised with coils thats for sure. I laugh now when I see them advertised on Ebay as being fitted with springs as if that is some sort of advantage! I appreciate that if you have had loads of EAS probs over the years its might be tempting (on reliability and financial grounds) but to me it ruins one of the best parts of the car - the ride quality. Whadda ya think?

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Simple answer, "back in their day", with P38, and more so particularly the RRC, coils were a MUCH cheaper option to fit then paying expensive repair bills on EAS.
Today, financially it is less clear cut choice to fit springs, with EAS parts coming down in price and more people with knowledge to be able to work on them properly.

Yep, EAS feels very smooth over rough terrain or more likely the speed bumps outside the kids school when picking them up.:fighting:

For the DIYer mechanic, coils are still easier to work on then an EAS system




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